Japan’s top diplomat on Friday called the frequency of missile launches by North Korea “a provocation” after the latest firing of a short-range ballistic missile in the Sea of Japan.
The frequent missile launches are “provocative and indicate that they are turning their backs on the international community,” Yoshimasa Hayashi told a news conference.
“Therefore, we condemn these acts and are considering a response,” he warned.
North Korea launched a short-range ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan, called the East Sea by the two Koreas, in the ninth launch in the last 20 days, which represents a further step in the escalation of tension in the region. .
This latest launch came just an hour after at least 10 North Korean planes carried out maneuvers near the southern border, forcing Seoul to deploy planes for a possible intercept maneuver. On Thursday, Pyongyang had announced that it would conduct another cruise missile test into the Yellow Sea.
In response, Seoul also announced the first sanctions in five years against North Korea, affecting 15 individuals and 16 North Korean entities, including four members of the Second Academy of Natural Sciences, a North Korean state organization that the UN says will be responsible for the investigation. and development of advanced weapons.
Hayashi said that Tokyo supported Seoul’s decision, but did not indicate whether Japan would follow suit and apply new sanctions against the regime.
The Japanese government will work with the international community, especially South Korea and the United States, to see what the next step should be, he added.
In this sense, the spokesman for the Japanese government, Hirokazu Matsuno, stressed that Japan is attentive to North Korea’s military movements, but declined to give details “so it is not possible to assess the ability to counterattack.”
Kim Jong-un’s regime has been testing tactical nuclear weapons systems since September 25 in response to recent maneuvers by a US aircraft carrier in waters off the Korean peninsula.
Source: TSF
